A nice clay chimney pot can be a beautiful thing so I was pleased to discover these new ones by Studio Wieki Somers. The pots are the crowning glory on a new housing development in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands and in keeping with the architect’s reinterpretation of English Tudor style, the designers have created a range of chimney pots, all enhancing the identity of the new neighbourhood.
The inspiration came from the tall, richly decorated chimney pots characteristic of traditional English Tudor architecture, echoed in the way that farmers stacked peat around the Haarlemmermeer lake in the sixteenth century. The studio developed a modular system by stacking several elements in various combinations to produce different compositions. It is a kind of Lego with infinite possibilities. The details of the chimneys are actually made from polyester concrete instead of clay and this contemporary and durable material allows sections to be ground open, revealing the underlying structure. At the housing development, each of the residents can choose their own chimney pot from a family of five different designs, offering them a unique way of personalising their home.